In Living Color

How To Tell If Wedding Videography Is Right For You

Whether it’s a brief home video or a two-hour, high-budget Hollywood production, seeing something on screen is captivating and stays with us long after viewing. Paired with the inherent magic of a wedding, wedding videos can be especially meaningful—but the cost of hiring a wedding videographer may have you stuck between “must-have” and “maybe.”

If you’re unsure about this decision, consider the following expert information from top-rated local videographers from DeVries Productions and SoloKoo Wedding Films to determine if wedding videography is a good fit for your big day.

Outdoor and natural light weddings set during warmer months are ideal for videography.

Although it is possible to hire a videographer for just about any venue during any season, outdoor weddings or indoor weddings with ample natural light held during warmer months tend to yield the best results. “Our wedding season typically runs from April to December,” says Micah DeVries, videographer and co-owner of DeVries Productions. “The winter months can prove challenging due to snow and cold temperatures, so we don’t tend to book a lot of weddings during that time. We particularly love venues with a lot of good, natural lighting or outdoor venues. We’ve had the opportunity to work at some awesome places, but admittedly I’m a total sucker for any venue that has a killer mountain backdrop!” Solo Koo, videographer and owner of SoloKoo Wedding Films, agrees, adding he especially likes to film during the summer in outdoor venues or indoor venues with large windows.

Videographers recommend hiring a photographer as well.

Both Koo and the DeVries recommend hiring a professional photographer in addition to a videographer to fully document your wedding. “Our couples usually do have both photo and video, and I think both are equally important,” Koo says. “I recommend having both because photos are beautiful keepsakes to decorate your house with or give to others as gifts, but videos capture everything in real time.

A well-done video captures moments you may have missed on that day. You get to see and hear your vows, reception speeches, dances, and more for years and years to come.”

Wedding videos are easy and fun to share.

Once you receive your wedding video, you will likely be very excited to share it with family and friends. Luckily, the best videographers make it easy to share your video in several different ways. “We upload each couple’s wedding film to Vimeo to make it easy and simple for them to share,” says Micah DeVries. “In addition, we send our couples a USB and DVD copy of their wedding film.” SoloKoo Productions offers a digital link, digital HD download, and Blu-rays or DVDs in addition to uploading videos onto Vimeo as well.

Be willing to communicate what you want but also trust in your wedding videographer’s creativity and expertise.

As is the case with professional photographers, professional videographers will request your input regarding which moments are most important to you and will be sure to include those in your wedding film. That said, the best videographers also have a knack for noticing, capturing, and presenting special moments you may not have considered. For Koo, capturing the unique personality of the couple and general mood of the day are very important. “We are always open to suggestions from couples and we even send out a questionnaire before the wedding inquiring about any specific details or moments that are really important to them so we can be sure not to miss those. If they have any suggestions as far as song selections, we are more than happy to incorporate that as well,” he says.

“We believe the most important thing that happens on a couple’s wedding day is their commitment to each other through their vows,” Josh DeVries says. “We make it a point to always include those vows in each wedding film. We also make it a point to include other moments that are particularly special to our couples, such as letter exchanges, father/daughter ‘first looks,’ or highlighting parents and grandparents.

Prior to the wedding, we ask our couples what they feel are the most important aspects of their wedding day so that we can ensure we capture those moments on film.” Micah DeVries adds that one of her favorite moments to capture is the bride and groom being introduced as husband and wife for the first time. “Their smiles as they walk back down the aisle are always contagious, and it’s a moment we always enjoy putting in their final film!” she exclaims.

Remember that your wedding video will generally not show the event in its entirety, but will rather showcase the highlights in a beautiful, artistic way.

The best professional videographers edit and present seamless, breathtaking final products, so bear in mind that you likely won’t see every moment of your wedding in your wedding film.

For example, the DeVries say they spend nine to 12 hours at a wedding to put together a 10- to 12-minute feature film and/or approximately five minutes for highlight films. “Our job is to create a film that will take a couple right back to their wedding day and the commitment they made to each other. If we do that, then we believe we’ve done our job well,” says Josh DeVries.

A similar story for Koo, who says a typical wedding usually ends up being about eight to 10 hours of filming, and they produce a range of film lengths, from a 7- to 15-minute highlight film to a full length (one hour or two) film. “It is truly a blessing just to be a part of someone’s happiest day of their lives, a celebration of love and unity with family and friends,” says Koo.